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Topic Review (Newest First)

05-01-2014 05:04 PM

MaggieRoseLee

Sounds like a happy normal 7 m old puppy. Why it's SO important we do our homework before adding a new pup to the house so that it's a breed/age that fits in smoothly with our life.

may not be what you wanna hear but find him a new home
yours is not the best thing for him right now
neuter him then rehome or contact a rescue about him

he needs a new home and environment to blossom and become what he was meant to be
not stuck in the back yard away from everyone until he becomes destructive
dogs like this can easily become aggressive too

and he is young enough right now to salvage

05-01-2014 03:10 PM

cotp_robin

Help with my 7 m old puppy

So here is our story.
We got a new puppy about 2.5 weeks ago. He is a purebred, not fixed, AKC registered pup who just turned 7 months old. He wasn't exactly a "rescue", but in a way he was. The lady who had him was a single mom who bought the puppy for her kids for Christmas and was completely unprepared and had no time for him. He was locked up nearly all day every day. I think he got to the point of being too big for her to handle. He is extremely smart (as you would expect). He is very very friendly, but so big and still very much a puppy. He walks like a pro, never in front of us, and always in a good "heel" position. The lady did send him away for training so that part he has been great. However, she never really had time to keep working with him. He is house broke and crate trained. Thats where all the "good" stops. Now our problems and what I'd love some advice on....

We have an old golden retriever who is 9.5+ years. He can be very playful, but doesn't get around quickly anymore and is on the "timid" side. He is and has been a wonderful dog for us. I am starting to wonder if we maybe got the GSD too soon (before our other is gone). We introduced them in our backyard and they both had fun for a while. However the GSD wanted to play roughly longer than our golden wanted too and started to get really angry, growl etc. I have never heard our golden growl before. I realize a lot of this was trying to determine the "alpha" (of the two), but our golden is just too old to stake his claim to being alpha. So now we have to keep the dogs separate. Which means, the GSD spends all day outside and then comes in for a short time in the evenings before he is put in his crate. The previous owner's daughter actually TAUGHT the GSD to jump up on her and its something we are having a hard time breaking. We have very small kids and now because he is so energetic and excited we can't have them together. So while I thought I could spend lots of time with him (and the kids), I can't really because the kids can't be out there with him. He is now starting to chew adn eat everything in our backyard. I know its because he is bored, but what do we do? We have removed all the toys and anything he could chew on. However, he has now destroyed my baby swing, hose, pulls our grill out, has dug up our sprinkler system (part), chewing the bark off our tree, dragging patio chairs out etc. He can't be crated all day. We aim to give him two 1 mile walks a day, but only 1 person can walk with him so if I have the kids myself he only gets one. When he is in the house, he is gated off to only 1 small area because he is crazy. Running around, wanting to eat everything, and having to keep the dogs separate. We have worked hard to make sure that he knows we are alpha. He mouths our arms a lot and never sits down or rests while in the house. We got him a bone and kong nad he has finally settled some, but is always on high alert. What can we do with him?

So I guess to summarize:
1. He chews everything outside
2. Is so hyper he can't be with our other dog or kids
3. Mouths us until it hurts
4. Jumps up constantly

He is a great walker, super smart, very sweet (no aggression at all so far).